Long-term Kyle Tucker Cubs contract still likely, per ESPN’s Jeff Passan
Kyle Tucker’s potential free-agent price tag has changed.
At least, according to ESPN MLB insider Jeff Passan, it has. And it’s now a lot lower than it was before.
Passan joined Marquee Sports Network’s Lance Brozdowski on the “Cubs Weekly Podcast” on Thursday to talk all things Cubs, including the now-age-old Tucker contract discussion.
“I want to acknowledge that Kyle Tucker’s swoon through July and into August has a chance to demonstrably affect what that final number might be,” Passan said. “He needs to finish strong if he wants to be in that 450-plus range.
“I’ve talked with other people in the industry, whether it’s with clubs, agents or other players about what they think Kyle Tucker is going to be at. Right now, they think the over/under has gone down to $400 million.”
Back at the end of April, USA TODAY’s Bob Nightengale projected Tucker would land a contract north of $500 million come the offseason. At that point, Tucker was raking for the Cubs — his slash line through the month stood at .279/.386/.549 (.935 OPS) with seven home runs and 27 RBI. Cubs fans had already started their ‘Extend Kyle Tucker’ campaigns, and they were loud about it.
But Tucker’s well-documented slump — the worst of his career — came very recently. He managed just one home run in July and struck out 21 times in August with an OPS hovering around .660 across both months. Those numbers may have put a dent in the figure that will come Tucker’s way when he hits free agency.
With that being said, are the Cubs still the favorites to re-sign Tucker in the offseason?
“I’ve said ‘yes’ in the past, and I will still say ‘yes’ now,” Passan told Brozdowski. “But I think the Cubs are going to have a limit that they’re not going to want to go past. The reason I have paused on saying, ‘Unequivocally, yes, they are the favorite,’ is because I’ve seen this time and again.”
Passan used this past offseason’s Alex Bregman sweepstakes as an example, in which the Cubs reportedly offered the third baseman a four-year, $120 million contract before he signed with the Boston Red Sox for that same figure on a three-year deal. That meant the Red Sox agreed to give Bregman $10 million more per year than what the Cubs had offered.
Jason Heyward’s eight-year, $184 million deal that he signed back in December 2015 remains the Cubs’ franchise record. President of baseball operations Jed Hoyer, general manager Carter Hawkins and the rest of the front office will have to go much, much steeper if they plan on bringing Tucker back for 2026 and beyond. What remains to be seen is the club’s willingness to make that extra step, said Passan.
“I’ve seen the Cubs have a willingness to stop,” Passan said. “One could call that either discipline or foolishness. Maybe it’s a little bit of both.
“I think that the Cubs are going to have a number (they’re not willing) to go past, and if they do lose Kyle Tucker, that’s going to be the reason — because they were steadfast in their position and refused to move off of it despite market forces doing what they needed to do.”
